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The Screaming Moderate

How to trump The Donald

9/14/2015

3 Comments

 
          If you’re running against Donald Trump,  there are a few strategies available to you:
  1.  Ignore him and run your own campaign on the assumption that, at some point, he will flame out
  2. Strategically drop criticisms of him as you focus on your own message but show your supporters that you have the guts for a fight when needed
  3. Take him on directly and demonstrate what a phony candidacy his is and see if you can turn the media from fawning press agents into the objective force they’re supposed to be
            If I were the candidate in today’s environment -- when voters want authenticity and straight talk -- I’d give a speech and here’s what I’d say:

“Thank you, my fellow Americans. I want to talk to you today about the elephant in the room – Donald Trump. He is leading the polls, by a good measure. He is flamboyant. He says bold things. He is a glib entertainer and he makes for good headlines. He counter-punches, as he says, very well. He is rich, really, really rich as he often tells us. He is smart, very, very smart as he waves around his excellent Wharton education. He is a terrific negotiator, which I believe has been mostly true in his deal-making career, with some mistakes along the way – as is to be expected in any successful life.

“So, Mr. Trump has made quite a splash on the political circuit, just as he did in his reality television career. He’s made that splash through force of personality and boldness, just as he did on his TV series. He drops sound bites that garner huge attention, just like those politicians he says he despises. He calls leaders of the country “stupid.” He insults women. He discriminates against various races and cultures, particularly Mexican immigrants who he considers rapists and thieves. He doesn’t apologize for he sees not what he does wrong. He may skip to another subject quickly, or he may say, 'But I love women.  Women love me. You’ll see, I’ll the best president for women…Hispanics love me! I’ll be the best president for Hispanics.'  Then he goes out and insults them again.

“Just like the politicians he lambastes in his rants – he says one thing, and then says a contradictory thing, trying to find the right note to appeal to the group he just insulted. He never lays out how he will do things, other than building a multi-billion dollar wall which he, of course, says he can do because he’s a 'builder, that’s what I do.'

“He may be a builder. He may be a deal-maker. What he is right now, though, is a politician. Sound bites. Big talk without specific backup. Made for TV speeches with no substance. Criticisms but no solutions other than to trust him, like many politicians before him have asked you. He is all that he claims to not be. And it’s time he is called on it.

“Many in the field, and I was one for a while, are careful not to criticize Mr. Trump because they want to win over his voters when he gets out of the race. Also because we know that we really can’t beat Mr. Trump in a head-to-head insults contest. He follows no rules, has no discretion, and how do you beat that? But if we allow Mr. Trump to do as he’s been doing, he won’t get out of the race and those voters may well stick with him. It’s fun to poke 'career politicians' in the eye and claim he knows better than they how to run the country.

"But, my friends, today – he is a politician. Let me pause a moment and say it again: Donald Trump is a politician and, at the moment, the best politician, as he defines the word, in the bunch. He uses his excellent marketing skills just like P.T. Barnum did to create an image of boldness, of straight talk and an image that promotes the ability to do something, on the strength of his personality and business experience. Just like P.T. Barnum he makes you believe what he wants you to believe based on strong marketing skills and good line of blarney.

“So, today, I want to lay out five issues for you. Five issues that I have thought through, discussed with experts in their fields, and come to conclusions on how I can put policies in place to improve these five areas. The areas are: the economy and jobs, education for our children, national security for us all, the equity in pay and health for women and immigration.

“I will be specific, as my policy thoughts are specific.  I will detail my plans. And, when I’m done, I challenge Mr. Trump to do the same. Now, Mr. Trump may call this speech boring -- but this speech is about how I want to improve your lives. That is not boring. That is crucial. That is what elections are about.

"These are the issues most important to the most Americans. And these are the issues I will tackle today. I’ll talk specifics about other issues in the future, and the same challenge stands: Mr. Trump, tell us your plans for making lives of all Americans better. Be specific. Let the voters decide who among us is best qualified and prepared to be their next President based on facts and policies, not based on insults and sound bites.

“To Mr. Trump I say, I will talk specifics about policy. I will not ‘counter-punch’ your personal or substance-less attacks. We have no time for those kinds of games. We have millions of people who need help, who need federal policies to help, who need national leadership to build them up, not tear everything down.

“It’s time to leave the political games behind and to lay out for the American people our visions for America. It’s time to take this campaign seriously. To the voters I say, message received. You want straight talk from those of us who run for office. You’re tired of the prepared talking points and of us avoiding direct answers to your questions. I hear you. And here are my policies for those five issues.”

Then, I’d list the specifics in each of those areas and let people base their decision on whether I’m qualified to be president on policy proposals and temperament. If they don’t vote for me based on those things, why would I want to be president? At some point, this election will be decided on specific policy differences among the candidates. Candidates have to stop trying to match Trump. You cannot beat him if you try to follow his rules. To get there, you have to silence the bully in the room and force him to give specifics rather than hyperbole and tell us all what he would do if elected.

I’m confident that once that happens, Mr. Trump no longer will be the front runner and he’ll be trying to find a graceful exit from the race that allows him to maintain some semblance of his dignity. And that’s a low bar, I know.



3 Comments
Bob Damia
9/14/2015 11:14:25 am

I like this blog post... It is both substantive and provocative ...but..if substance was currently an issue in the mind of voters, "The Donald" would be gone already. In terms of being provocative, any article written regarding Mr. Trump, the candidate, seems to be thought provoking because anything and everything that comes out of his mouth is delivered with the least amount of thought in the history of American politics.Therefore, any response to anything he says is equally provocative. A writer in the L.A. Times wrote (and I wholeheartedly agree) that when Trump begins to speak, he only stops when he's (essentially) used up all of the breathable air in the room. That may be exactly why he's polling so well...it's not that he's the "actual" leading candidate for the nomination, but that all of the others are so woozy and lightheaded from the lack of oxygen they simply aren't responding well because of it. I, as do many others with functioning brains, honestly believe that Trump will implode sooner or later. However, in the unlikely event he does not, how are we as a nation going to react when he raises the giant gold letters over the front door at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. welcoming guests to the new and improved "TRUMP" WHITE HOUSE (Hotel, Casino and Golf Course)...

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bobbie
9/14/2015 10:45:27 pm

Your observations and comments express my concerns exactly. How can we ensure that all candidates speak to their plans for America's future so that we can make an informed decision in the voting booth. If Trump has answers that make sense let's hear them so that we know he deserves the front spot he is now holding. Americans!.... We must hold all politicians to a higher standard in what they claim to offer and ultimately deliver! Listen, think, decide!

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Bob Damia
9/16/2015 11:08:24 am

Absolutely. I'm getting a little tired of all of the voters who iterate ad nauseum, that they think Trump's "our guy" because he represents what we all are thinking by simply saying it out loud. The lack of a "filter" doesn't qualify one to be President of the United States...in my opinion, it disqualifies them.
With a little luck, maybe (during tonight's debate) we'll see a side of Mr. Trump that hasn't appeared in public as yet. I suppose (just, maybe) a candidate that simply doesn't get that others don't necessarily agree with his positions isn't to be dismissed when a majority of otherwise intelligent people support him...you see, I don't HATE Donald Trump..I just don't like him. I have a sneaking suspicion that many people feel the same way. I'll say this...more folks than ever are actively involved in this Presidential election than ever before and it can be reasoned that Donald Trump is the reason for that...so, in a way, perhaps he's done something of real value...he's gotten the American people interested in the process of choosing who will run the free world going forward...and, in the final analysis, I'm fairly certain that that's a good thing... a lot can happen in 14 months and I'm pretty sure as the election gets closer there will be a LOT of us watching..a LOT more than usual...

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    B. Jay Cooper

    B. Jay is a former deputy White House press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also headed the communications offices at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He is a former reporter and is the retired deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide's Washington, D.C., office.
    He is the father of three daughters and grandfather of five boys and one girl. He lives in Marion, Mass.

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